FTX collapsed in November, a symbol of crypto hubris gone awry. Since then, Mr. Bankman-Fried has spent months in relative comfort. After his arrest on fraud charges in December, he pleaded not guilty and was granted bail, allowing him to live in his parents’ home in Palo Alto, Calif. He was able to play video games and watch sports, while meeting with reporters and working with lawyers to construct a defense.
Last month, the judge overseeing his case, Lewis A. Kaplan, revoked Mr. Bankman-Fried’s bail after ruling that the FTX founder had twice tried to interfere with witnesses in the case. Mr. Bankman-Fried was taken from the courthouse to M.D.C., a jail that has struggled with staffing shortages, freezing conditions and other problems.
Mr. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have filed an appeal seeking to have his bail reinstated. At a hearing last month, Mark Cohen, one of his lawyers, said the jail was not accommodating Mr. Bankman-Fried’s vegan diet, forcing him to subsist on bread, water and peanut butter.
“Notwithstanding multiple requests for a vegan diet, he continues to be served a flesh diet,” Mr. Cohen said in court.
Mr. Cohen also asked Judge Kaplan in a filing to give Mr. Bankman-Fried access to two medications that have been prescribed to him — Emsam, a transdermal patch that treats depression, and the A.D.H.D. medication Adderall. Mr. Bankman-Fried had brought only a few days’ worth of the medications with him to the jail, Mr. Cohen said.
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